Author: AmolsFiesta

Though we’ve made our resolutions and toasted to the New Year, the celebration hasn’t closed its doors just yet! Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, will take place on February 8th this year. So if you haven’t been keeping up with your resolutions, all hope is not lost. With the Chinese New Year on its way, you’ve still got a second chance to get that book read or that junk food out of your house.

When it comes to party planning for this particular New Year, there isn’t nearly as much champagne toasting as we’re used to. However, it’s certainly not an occasion to miss! The Chinese New Year is known for its most important element, the reunion dinner. Held on the eve of the New Year, the dinner spread is lavish with multiple courses – including a raw fish salad known as yee sang. The tradition behind this is that the higher you toss the salad, the more your fortunes will grow in the New Year. How’s that for a tradition?

While the western New Year focuses on resolutions and fresh starts, the Chinese New Year is tied to tradition and symbolism. One of the most common traditions that can be seen during the celebration is the dragon dance. It is believed that the loud beats of the drum and cymbals together with the face of the dragon dancing aggressively can evict evil spirits. These dances take the great skill and mentality of a sports team with the stagecraft of a performing arts group.

Today, the celebration lasts for two weeks featuring a number of important icons and decorations. From dragons to lanterns, Amols’ has a great selection of beautiful decorations to help bring good fortune to your Lunar New Year.

Are your favorite Irish recipes bookmarked? Is your venue awash in shades of green? If you’re not quite ready for an impressive St. Patrick’s Day celebration, don’t worry – with a little help from Amols’ party experts, it can be easy being green. Check our some of our favorite St. Paddy’s products and tips for some inspiring planning ideas!

Finding the right starting point can be tough, especially if you’ve just gotten off an all-day Pinterest binge (no, just us?) We recommend starting with some easy but perfectly festive decorations, like our St. Patrick’s Day Pennant Banner. Keep it going with some shamrocks hanging dramatically from the ceiling, and decorate the walls with our popular (and super adorable) leprechaun cutouts. So whether you’re throwing a large event or just decorating for the classroom or office, we’ve got the St. Paddy’s decor answer for you!

Make sure all your guests get in on the action, too! Our green party wear is a must-have for a true easy-being-green celebration. Hand out a hat to every guest as they enter the party, or send everyone home with some St. Paddy’s beads for a perfectly memorable party favor. Or, let your guests take home a piece of the cake – literally!

We can’t wait to try some of these ideas this St. Patrick’s Day, and of course we’d love to see some of your own ideas and plans for a terrific celebration!